Whereupon they clutched each other tightly and laughed long and loud!
Martin presently looked at his watch and, having recovered a degree of sobriety, announced the hour as half-past four. That struck Nelson as being very, very comical, and he began to laugh all over again. Martin called him a silly ass and said it was a good thing it wasn’t twelve o’clock, since in that case Nelson would probably have hysterics.
I might give a detailed account of what transpired during the next four hours, but you would find it tiresome, although not so tiresome as they did! Briefly, though, let me tell you that they tried to find, first of all, the tumble-down hut, in which they failed utterly, and that they subsequently put the coast behind them, according to their calculations, and set out for the harbor, in the hope that they would either find the boat they had rowed across in or, failing that, some other means of transportation. They got thoroughly wet and a trifle shivery, as night drew near, but they didn’t find the shore of the harbor. They simply couldn’t find anything! They were fairly certain that not far away in more than one direction lay villages, or, at least, dwellings, but Fate guided their footsteps so carefully that not the slightest sign of a habitation rewarded them. As Martin grumbled—for they reached the grumbling stage eventually—if they had committed murder and were trying to keep away from folks they’d probably bump into a house every fifty yards!
When darkness came, earlier because of the mist which grew heavier as time went on, they did at last reach a shore, but it wasn’t the harbor that lay before them. There were rocks and no sign of a beach save at infrequent intervals where the ledges broke apart, and the big waves that roared against those stone battlements were straight from the Atlantic. So, of course, what they had done was to cross the headland, a matter of a full five miles, keeping in a direction quite contrary to the one sought, which, in fog or darkness, is exactly what one is most likely to do. They knew that to their right was the entrance to the harbor, with a lighthouse on a point, but how far away it might be there was no telling. What lay along the shore in the other direction they didn’t know. Consequently they turned westward, toward the light. The night was not cold, but here on the cliffs a chill breath from the ocean penetrated their saturated clothing, sent shivers up and down their backs and set their teeth chattering. Perhaps if they had been able to walk briskly they could have kept warm, but when one doesn’t know whether the next step is to drop him over the edge of a cliff, walking briskly is not advisable. They went on, making what progress they might, trying to keep the feel of the turf underfoot, but frequently finding themselves stumbling over the bare surface of the ledges. They were doing but little talking now and had quite forgotten for the time how to laugh. They were miserably hungry, and when Nelson spoke feelingly out of the darkness of a cup of hot coffee Martin threatened to throw him over the cliff if he didn’t stop. There is no saying how fast they traveled, but I think that if they covered a quarter of a mile of that going in a half-hour they did well. It was close on nine when Martin looked at the faintly illuminated dial of his wrist watch for the last time. They were then in the lee of a rock which for the moment disputed their path, and they had paused to regain their breaths before finding their way around it. And it was at that moment of panting silence that they saw the light.
It flashed forth suddenly below them as though in the water: once—twice—three times, and disappeared. So surprised were they that it was not until its faint rays had gone that Martin opened his mouth to hail. That only a sort of gasp issued was due to the fact that his companion laid a warning clutch on his arm.
“Wait!” whispered Nelson. “Don’t shout!”
“Why not? It’s a boat, you chump!” But Martin dropped his voice to match Nelson’s.
“I know, but what’s it doing? Let’s wait a minute, Mart, and find out. The light wasn’t directed toward us, but out to sea, and—Look!”
Very faintly an answering beacon glimmered through the mist: once and again.
“Well, that doesn’t prove anything, does it?” asked Martin impatiently. “What’s the big idea? Maybe you think it’s the German Navy come to take Ireland?”